FOUR children have been left orphaned by the unexplained death of a Worcestershire couple while on holiday in Morocco.

Roger and Mathilde Lamb, of Pensham, near Pershore, were in Essaouira in Morocco with their sons when they died in separate falls. Wiltshire Police, where Mrs Lamb’s family are from, are liaising with officers in Morocco to try and establish how the pair died, according to local media reports four days apart.

Mrs Lamb – known as Tilly – is due to be repatriated to Wiltshire. The coroner has been informed.

Her brother-in-law Mark Rogerson said the couple’s four sons, reported to be Felix, aged nine, Henry, 11, Montague, 15, and Angus, 16, are back in the UK being looked after by relatives.

Mr Rogerson said they knew very few details about what happened but said both families have been “deeply shocked and saddened by their tragic deaths”.

"Our principal concern is to provide love and support to their four sons who have had to suffer the loss of both a mother and a father in swift succession."

Mr Lamb, aged 47, was a geo-technical engineer who had been working for GHD based in Christchurch, in New Zealand.

He died on Sunday, August 21, after a fall from the second-floor balcony of the hotel where he was staying.

His death came four days after his 44-year-old wife plunged from the third floor of rented house in the city centre on Wednesday, August 17.

Mr Lamb was a keen fell runner and horseman and had ridden with the Croome & West Warwickshire hunt.

Allison Haynes, hunt chairman, said “they were a lovely family”.

Mr Lamb was often seen about Pershore, at the reigns of a horse pulling his home-made four-wheel carriage.

The couple’s £850,000 five-bedroom home in old Pensham village was up for sale, and is understood the family may have been planning a move to New Zealand.

The Revd Terry Henderson, rector for nearby Great Comberton, where Mrs Lamb's elderly mother lives, said the couple were part of the community through their children's primary school in Elmley Castle.

"I have been trying to support the family at this time, particularly Tilly's mother who is quite elderly," he said.

"In a small rural community like this when news like that is suddenly made known the community, because they know the couple so well, are traumatised by it because in a rural community you get to know people very well."

He said Mrs Lamb was chair of the school's PTA for several years and both she and her husband were involved with the school.

Mr Henderson said while there was “lots of speculation” it was still not clear exactly what had happened.

A Wiltshire Police spokeswoman said: “I can confirm the matter is being looked into by Wiltshire Police on behalf of the coroner but it is too early to speculate on any future developments.”

“Officers will be liaising with everybody involved.”